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SIDELIGHTS ; 
ON LIFE IN 
LITHUANIA 




Published by 

The Lithuanian Information Bureau 

703 Fifteenth Street N. W. 

Washington, D. C. 



*K< 



.u* 



<D' 




J- 



The Forget-me-not 

By Maironis 

That floweret delights 

Which so modestly grows 

And blooms by the stream in the dale; 

Not being bedizened 

Like the delicate rose, 

It fears not late Autumn's chill gale. 

Like the eye of a dove 

It is bashful and coy; 

Innocent as the heavens blue. 

It fills the beholder 

With affection and joy, 

And blossoms the long summer through. 

Bright wreaths of red roses 

Or garlands of daisies, 

Though gorgeous, stir not the breast. 

The glowing clove-blossoms, 

Like old copper pieces, 

Cause not e'en the miser unrest. 

In Nature' s great garden 
Every blossom and tree 
By some pretty title we call. 
But of these lovely names, 
It seems always to me, 
Forget-me-not' s sweetest of all. 

(English version of the Lithuanian by 'Walter S. Marvin. ) 



SIDELIGHTS ON LIFE IN LITHUANIA 

(Reprinted from The Spectator, March 7, 1885.) 

Few persons who have not actually lived in Lithuania are at all able 
to realize the distinctive character of that ancient Grand Duchy, which 
is to most of us jusf a part of Russia, and nothing more. We may 
possibly remember that its people are neither Slavs nor Teutons, 1 and 
its language nearly akin to Sanscrit, but we are just as likely to con- 
fuse it with Poland, a country with which it was so long united. 2 Now, 
to compare a Lithuanian with a Pole, and vice versa, is to affront 
either party very decidedly. In the eyes of the inhabitants of "the 
kingdom," as Poland is designated by the people of the neighboring 
State, the Lithuanian is a heavy creature, caring for little beyond his 
business, of which he is thoroughly master, and entirely wanting in 
savior vivre; while by him the Pole is regarded as shallow and vain. 
The truth lies, of course, between the two extremes; each has his 
virtues and each his little failings. On the whole, however, we are 
inclined to lean towards the sturdy Lithuanian, for whether he be 
prince or peasant, we feel that he can be depended upon; and his 
country has, as we have already said, a perfectly distinctive character, 
so that in whichever direction you cross the boundary, you at once 
perceive yourself to be in another nationality, not merely if you turn 
towards Protestant Courland, with its German-speaking population and 
the homely customs of Vaterland, or dive into Austrian or Russian 
Poland, but even if you shape your course for the heart of the great 
empire itself. 

As to the physical aspect of the country, it is flat — hopelessly, abso- 
lutely flat — and, moreover, damp and marshy; which state of things 
has, it will be perceived, its compensations during the long, severe 
winter. As far as the eye can reach we see nothing but field and 
forest, with here and there an occasional village, and on each side 
of the straight, narrow roads is a deep ditch that carries the drainage 
of the arable land to the river. A Lithuanian village is, however, a 
pretty sight, consisting, as it does, of a number of thatched houses 
interspersed with timber trees, each house having its fruit-garden in 
front, and its little yard and outhouses, the whole surrounded by a 
wooden paling. The cottages are very small, having a frontage, say, 
of thirty feet, divided into three rooms, all on the ground floor, the 
stove, on which the family sleep at night, being in the central apart- 
ment. The cottages are built of logs, squared only on the inside; but 
the chimney, when there is one, is of brick. While the poorer ones 
remain in the rough, those of the better class are coloured grey, their 
tiny windows having green or white shutters, on which groups of 
flowers are sometimes rudely painted. 

LITHUANIAN PEASANT 

The Lithuanian peasant is a stalwart fellow, tall and fair, wearing 
a moustache, but no beard. He has a great fancy for bright colours, 
and while his tight-fitting jacket of home-made cloth will probably 
be of darkish red, nothing is too gay for his vest and trousers. Pea- 
green, orange, pink, light yellow, and sky-blue are the favourite shades 



Lithuanian people are neither Slavs nor Teutons, but a separate branch 
of Indo-European races. 

*This relation was merely a dynastic union of the states. — L. I. B. 



for these garments, very narrow lines of black being woven into the 
material at wide intervals, so as to form a check. On week-days the 
trousers are tucked into the high boots, but on Sundays they are let 
down over them. In summer-time we have a full view of this startling 
costume, which is surmounted by a cloth cap, and at this season a gang 
of labourers produces somewhat the effect of a walking flower-bed; 
but during the greater part of the year, this finery is concealed by the 
inevitable sheepskin coat, worn, of course, "with the furry side in," 
and tightened at the waist by a leather girdle, or, on gala days, by a 
crimson sash, the head-covering being then a full velvet cap, like a 
bag, with a broad border and ear-flaps of curled Vool. 

If the men glory in trousers, so also do the women in skirts, which 
are of bright coloured, striped stuff, also home-made, and enormously 
full, as many as seven or eight being worn one over another, so as to 
produce a charming crinoline effect — the more distended the better — 
the toilet being completed by a loose jacket of one colour, usually light- 
grey or beet-root, which latter shade they affect very much, trimmed all 
round with black braid, and buttoned up the front, with an apron of 
coloured print, and any amount of beads round the neck. The feminine 
head-gear is remarkably graceful, namely, a very long, white muslin 
scarf embroidered in colours, twisted about the head and throat, 
with the ends falling low down the back. In winter — and winter we 
must remember lasts for fully eight months — this glory is hidden, at 
least when out of doors, by the universal sheepskin, and by a thick 
shawl or woollen handkerchief covering the head and tied round the 
waist. When the coat is new, the skin is either of creamy whiteness 
or else dyed a bright orange colour. It is long enough to reach to the 
heels, is trimmed with curled wool, either black or grey, and finished 
off at the neck with a broad collar to match. Should a wedding take 
place in winter, it is de rigueur for all the eight or ten bridesmaids 
to have fur coats exactly alike. In summer these are replaced by long 
grey woollen cloaks covering the whole dress. 

WEDDING CUSTOMS 

A peasant wedding always takes place on Sunday, and if it is 
a grand one, the whole church is lighted up, even the side altars; it 
must be remembered that the Lithuanians are devout Roman Catholics. 
The bride is led in by two young men and followed by her bridesmaids, 
who all, like herself, are in their best dresses, and wear crowns of 
flowers. The bridegroom is accompanied by several young men, and 
behind the wedding party are the two mothers. A table is placed 
within the sanctuary, having on it a crucifix and candles, and it is there 
that the priest stands to unite the couple, and the bride would be 
guilty of very bad manners if she did not weep the whole time. If 
she is not inclined to do so the old women scold her. They then go 
home and feast for several days and nights, the first entertainment 
being given by the bride's mother, the next by that of the bridegroom, 
after which other relations follow suit. The national dance, which is 
something like a jig, and very difficult, is performed by a number of 
couples at once, and in the middle of it the bride and bridegroom dis- 
appear, and go to their own house. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LITHUANIAN PEASANT 

The Lithuanian peasants are industrious and thrifty. Their 
food consists of potatoes, buckwheat porridge, beetroot, sauerkraut, 
a sort of macaroni, but quite black ; pancakes, ryebread and meat — 
either beef or pork — eaten once a day in soup. They always have 
two soups for dinner, one without meat and the other with, the 
former being quite sour. A bathhouse is erected in every village, and 
used once a week by all the peasants, who bring their own fuel. When 

6 \ 




LITHUANIAN PEASANT FAMILY. 



they have remained long enough in the heated atmosphere, they take a 
plunge in the river, and wind up by beating themselves well with birch 
twigs. They live in a kind of rough comfort, and are never in want, but 
are not nearly so expansive as their Russian neighbors, these latter 
being always ready with some friendly speech: — "Ah! that is your 
eldest daughter," they will say on meeting a lady and her little girl. 
"She must be of such an age, I remember her christening very well; 
I suppose she is very clever now, and has learned a great many things," 
and so on. These Russians are of the sect of the Staroviery (men of the 
old faith) ; there are some peculiarities in their doctrine and ritual, and 
the Russo-Greeks are not very fond of them. They are a simple, kindly 
folk, but very poor; and their villages, of which there are many, are not 
nearly so well built as those of the Lithuanians, neither do they possess 
land of their own. The noble Lithuanian families have no love for 
Russia, while the peasants, on the other hand, rather incline toward 
her, being far from possessing much devotion to the lords of the soil, 
who have for centuries held them in bondage, and would willingly do 
so still, although, as we have shown, they are quite ready to take 
advantage of the favourable dispositions of those who may be styled in 
some sort the chiefs of their clans. 

There is a homeliness that is very pleasing about Lithuanian life, 
even in that of the old noblesse, who are generally rich, but never 
purse-proud. The house — or palace, as it is called — stands usually in 
the centre of a park, immediately adjoining which is the village. It is 
handsome, but not pretentious, though sufficiently large for sixty extra 
beds to be made up without disturbing the ordinary arrangements, for 
in these parts, where society has to be gathered together from a dis- 
tance, and morning visits are all but impracticable, hospitality has to 
be carried out on an extensive scale, especially during a hunt or some 
other festivity. Housekeeping is no joke in this part of the world; 
everything not of home produce must be brought from a long distance, 
and to reach the railway itself you may have to travel for twenty-four 
hours. The Jew pedlar is therefore a very important institution, as he 
carries not merely linen goods, dress-pieces, handkerchiefs, aprons, 
combs and brushes, stationery, trinkets, and the like, but also sugar, 
soap, blacking, and other household requirements. His personal appear- 
ance is not inviting, still he is a quaint-looking object, with his black 
garment reaching to his heels and slit up behind, and his trousers 
tucked into his high boots. His features are effeminate, an effect which 
is increased by the little greasy corkscrew ringlets on each side of his 
face, to which, as he is very proud of them, he never fails to give a 
twirl round his fingers before entering your presence, though he bestows 
no care upon his beard, which is always very long, pointed, and matted 
to a disgusting degree. As a rule, a Jew is always dirty, and as he 
has sense enough to know that it would be disagreeable to you to have 
your hand kissed by him, after the fashion of the country, he com- 
pounds for the omission by kissing your elbow! Though the Jew is 
obnoxious, he is nevertheless useful; and far from keeping to those of 
his own nationality, as do the Lithuanians, the Letts, and the Russians, 
who have all distinct villages, he is to be found everywhere, abounding 
particularly in the small towns, for he is the universal trader. A 
Lithuanian peasant will have nothing to do with commerce. 1 

WINTER IN LITHUANIA 

Lithuanian winters are very severe. From the month of November 
to April the whole country is a glittering white expanse. The houses 
are, however, so comfortably warmed — not over-heated, as is supposed 
in England — that very few additions are made to the indoor dress. The 



^This is not true of the Lithuanian of today. — L. I. B. 




COUNTRY GIRLS IN THE NATIONAL COSTUME. 



way the thing is managed is this: — Double windows, of course, are put 
in, and not removed till the frost is over. Then every morning wood- 
fires are lighted in the stoves all over the house. These stoves being 
built of fire-brick, of course retain the heat; so that unless an extraord- 
inary frost should occur, the fuel is not renewed in them, and the apart- 
ments remain at 15 degrees Reaumur — Lithuanians always use his 
scale — (about 58 Fahrenheit) during the day, and 14 by night. 

But what is amusing is the way the whole household watches and 
proclaims the increase of frost, as if they took a personal pride in the 
severity of the winter. "Fifteen degrees below zero," says the servant 
who comes to call you; and this you announce at breakfast, only to be 
told, perhaps, that the Sargas (the watchman who walks about all ,night 
in every great house for fear of fire) declares positively that the ther- 
mometer went down to 18; and the excitement increases day by day till 
it reaches its climax, probably at 27, when it is too cold for walking and 
even for skating. When you drive out you are swathed like a mummy. 
Yet is "dreary winter" far from being the dullest time. At the very 
first fall of snow the peasants take to their sledges, which like their 
carts and their clothing, are of every colour — red, green, blue, yellow, 
and brown. The sledge is, of course, the only means of winter locomo- 
tion, and the open sledge is used for the country drive, and the covered 
one for the evening visit; for now that the marshes are frozen over, 
distant people are brought into close neighborhood, and many a joyous 
merry-making takes place. 

HOLIDAY IN LITHUANIA 

We have said that the Lithuanians are Catholics, but Christ- 
mas Eve, though a day of abstinence, is a time of festivity. When 
the first star has shown itself, the drawing-room doors are thrown 
open and the master and mistress of the house take large oblong 
wafers of different colours, and break one with each person under 
their roof, wishing them a happy Christmas and all sorts of good 
fortune; and this example having been set, every one else does the 
same, the higher in rank offering the wafer to the inferior, and the elder 
to the younger. They then go in to supper, at which, in memory of 
the Babe of Bethlehem, a quantity of hay is placed under the table- 
cloth, large sheaves of wheat standing up at the end of the room. At 
intervals down the table one finds immense loaves made of flour, eggs, 
butter, and black poppy-seeds, each stamped with an infant Jesus. 
The other dishes consist of fish soup, another soup maigre with 
almonds and raisins in it, white poppy-seeds made into a mortar-like 
paste and eaten cold, cabbage, boiled and fried fish, sauerkraut, a great 
pike served with very rich brown sauce and almonds and raisins, and 
a single sweet dish called "kisielius" which is cream of oats made into 
blancmange and eaten with cream and syrup. For beverage you have 
hydromel, as well as different sorts of wine. The repast lasts for hours, 
for every one must partake of nine, eleven, or thirteen dishes, and part 
of the entertainment consists in pulling straws to see by their length 
whether your life will be long or short. Sometimes there is also 
a Christmas-tree, but that is often reserved for the next day, on which 
you turn out for Mass at 5 o'clock in the cold, dark, and dismal morning. 
Nothing particular is done on Christmas Day; there may be a dance 
in the evening; but on St. Stephen's day visitors are sure to come, and 
there will be an evening party. 

On Innocents' day some of the peasants go round and perform a 
queer sort of sacred play representing Herod surrounded by his officers, 
passing sentence on the children of Bethlehem. Their costume is not 
a little grotesque. As a conclusion, death comes and tells the king that 
as he has killed others, he, too, must die. In this quaint drama the 

10 




MOTHER AND FOUR STUDENT SONS. 



devil appears in the form of a he-goat. Sometimes instead of the play 
there is a kind of punch-and-judy show, one of the puppets holding out a 
bag for money, for it is scarcely necessary to say that a liberal reward 
is expected to follow either performance. 

On New Year's Eve there is the "masque party," that is, a number 
of people in costume go to the houses of the nearest neighbours — we 
have already said that the frozen marshes bring people together in 
winter time — and dance for a short time and eating saltanosiai (a favour- 
ite kind of bun), and then, accompanied by those they have come to see, 
go on to other friends — of course all this has been pre-arranged — a gay 
party, increasing like a snowball as it goes on, until there is quite a 
procession of torch-lit sledges, the bells of which ring merrily as they 
fly swiftly along. Of course, too, there are outdoor amusements in 
the day time. There is skating every day, and shooting — hares are very 
numerous and other kinds of small game; there are also deer, though 
the forests are not so suited for hunting as those of Poland. The 
wolves, of course, must be shot, and havoc is made among them. A 
young wolf is sometimes taken home, and will become quite companion- 
able, accompany you in your walks, and fawn upon you like the dogs, 
whose manners he seems to imitate. Only — and this is a serious point — 
he seems quite unable to renounce his thievish propensities, and makes 
away with so many fat ducks — he seems to have a weakness for these 
succulent morsels — that you are at last reluctantly obliged to "remove" 
him. 

For the carnival most people go to town, and eat more "saltanosiai" 
than ever; for although there is no meat in them, such delicacies must 
disappear during Lent, when, for at least three days in the week, milk, 
butter, eggs, and cheese are strictly forbidden, the abstinence being 
very severe. At Easter, however, all this privation is amply made up 
for, and during the last days of Holy Week an amount of cooking goes 
on which is simply wonderful. In the kitchen and still-room not only 
meat dishes, but sweets of every kind, are prepared — great towering 
"bobos" (flat cakes of almonds and nougat, iced and coloured), large 
tourtes, which resemble nothing so much as bride-cake — all these, with 
eggs of every colour, roast beef, sucking-pig, turkey, boar's head, game, 
ham, and cream cheese, are laid out on Holy Saturday on long tables 
in the conservatory, or, at all events, not in the usual dining room, when 
the priest comes and blesses the whole. The church is kept open all 
night, and at 11 o'clock a visit is paid to the Holy Sepulchre, beside 
which stand peasants in pasteboard armour, who personate the Roman 
guards. There is also a special service. You may think yourself lucky 
if you get any sleep that night, for at 4 o'clock you must attend the 
Mass of the Resurrection, which, being a solemn High Mass, with as 
grand a procession as may be, lasts a long time, so that after it you 
will not be sorry to refresh the inner man; and from this time eating 
goes on promiscuously at all hours for the next three days, every 
visitor who comes being conducted to the "sventiniai," as the display of 
eatables is called, such "sventiniai" more or less elaborate, being laid 
out everywhere, even in the peasants' houses, and it is the custom for 
the family of the place to pay visits to their dependents, and admire 
and perhaps partake of their feast. Those who live too far off for 
the priest to go to them bring bread, cheese and eggs to the church 
and get them blessed before the Mass on Easter morning. The "benit" 
is, as we have said already, eaten in snatches, and either standing or 
by one or two together at little tables, no regular meal, and nothing hot 
except tea and soup, being partaken of during the whole time, for the 
cooks must enjoy their well-earned holiday. But before taking any of it, 
a similar ceremony is gone through to that observed at Christmas, only 
this time it is with eggs — the master and mistress of the house having 
each a large dish of hard-boiled eggs cut in halves, which they present 
to every one with good wishes. 

12 

I 




A PEASANT WOMAN. 



But before speaking of Easter, which usually comes when spring 
is far advanced, we should have alluded to its precursor, the thaw! 
What words can describe the discomfort of that time of puddle and 
muddle when, if you attempt to walk one behind another in the narrow 
track made by the peasant at the side of the road, you sink nearly 
to your knees, for, of course, the frost has penetrated deep into the 
ground; or if you wish to drive, you must do so in springless vehicles, 
which alone can stand the jolting over half frozen lumps of ice which 
drive the luckless traveller to desperation. Sometimes, indeed, the 
roads are altogether impassable, and then there is no post and no visitors ; 
or haply the thaw may have been so sudden that those who have come 
to you in sledges are unable to make the return journey till they can 
do so in other vehicles. 

But in the spring-time — and it comes so suddenly — all is changed. 
The monotony of the seemingly endless forest is broken in upon by the 
singing of birds — goldfinches, thrushes, blackbirds, and robins, while 
violets, ferns, and lilies-of-the-valley appear in favoured spots. Other 
birds there are too, handsome, but not songsters — the hoopoe, for in- 
stance, and a large blue crow. At night the chorus of nightingales is 
absolutely deafening. In summer there are the beautiful fire-flies and 
immense night-moths; and you may gather strawberries and rasp- 
berries, and mushrooms, or rather different sorts of fungi, and bathe in 
the river, and revel in the soft warm air, and for a brief season forget 
that earth is not quite a paradise. 



14 



SIDELIGHTS- 
ON LIFE IN 
LITHUANIA 




Published by 

The Lithuanian Information Bureau 

703 Fifteenth Street N. W. 

Washington, D. C. 






3. 




Vl. 9 ' f9~ 



The Forget-me-not 

By Maironis 

That floweret delights 

Which so modestly grows 

And blooms by the stream in the dale ; 

Not being bedizened 

Like the delicate rose, 

It fears not late Autumn's chill gale. 

Like the eye of a dove 

It is bashful and coy; 

Innocent as the heavens blue. 

It fills the beholder 

With affection and joy, 

And blossoms the long summer through. 

Bright wreaths of red roses 

Or garlands of daisies, 

Though gorgeous, stir not the breast. 

The glowing clove-blossoms, 

Like old copper pieces, 

Cause not e'en the miser unrest. 

In Nature' 8 great garden 
Every blossom and tree 
By some pretty title we call. 
But of these lovely names, 
It seems always to me, 
Forget-me-not' s sweetest of all. 

(English version of the Lithuanian by Walter S. Marvin. ) 



SIDELIGHTS ON LIFE IN LITHUANIA 

(Reprinted from The Spectator, March 7, 1885.) 

Few persons who have not actually lived in Lithuania are at all able 
to realize the distinctive character of that ancient Grand Duchy, which 
is to most of us just a part of Russia, and nothing more. We may 
possibly remember that its people are neither Slavs nor Teutons, 1 and 
its language nearly akin to Sanscrit, but we are just as likely to con- 
fuse it with Poland, a country with which it was so long united. 2 Now, 
to compare a Lithuanian with a Pole, and vice versa, is to affront 
either party very decidedly. In the eyes of the inhabitants of "the 
kingdom," as Poland is designated by the people of the neighboring 
State, the Lithuanian is a heavy creature, caring for little beyond his 
business, of which he is thoroughly master, and entirely wanting in 
savior vivre; while by him the Pole is regarded as shallow and vain. 
The truth lies, of course, between the two extremes; each has his 
virtues and each his little failings. On the whole, however, we are 
inclined to lean towards the sturdy Lithuanian, for whether he be 
prince or peasant, we feel that he can be depended upon; and his 
country has, as we have already said, a perfectly distinctive character, 
so that in whichever direction you cross the boundary, you at once 
perceive yourself to be in another nationality, not merely if you turn 
towards Protestant Courland, with its German-speaking population and 
the homely customs of Vaterland, or dive into Austrian or Russian 
Poland, but even if you shape your course for the heart of the great 
empire itself. 

As to the physical aspect of the country, it is flat — hopelessly, abso- 
lutely flat — and, moreover, damp and marshy; which state of things 
has, it will be perceived, its compensations during the long, severe 
winter. As far as the eye can reach we see nothing but field and 
forest, with here and there an occasional village, and on each side 
of the straight, narrow roads is a deep ditch that carries the drainage 
of the arable land to the river. A Lithuanian village is, however, a 
pretty sight, consisting, as it does, of a number of thatched houses 
interspersed with timber trees, each house having its fruit-garden in 
front, and its little yard and outhouses, the whole surrounded by a 
wooden paling. The cottages are very small, having a frontage, say, 
of thirty feet, divided into three rooms, all on the ground floor, the 
stove, on which the family sleep at night, being in the central apart- 
ment. The cottages are built of logs, squared only on the inside; but 
the chimney, when there is one, is of brick. While the poorer ones 
remain in the rough, those of the better class are coloured grey, their 
tiny windows having green or white shutters, on which groups of 
flowers are sometimes rudely painted. 

LITHUANIAN PEASANT 

The Lithuanian peasant is a stalwart fellow, tall and fair, wearing 
a moustache, but no beard. He has a great fancy for bright colours, 
and while his tight-fitting jacket of home-made cloth will probably 
be of darkish red, nothing is too gay for his vest and trousers. Pea- 
green, orange, pink, light yellow, and sky-blue are the favourite shades 



Lithuanian people are neither Slavs nor Teutons, but a separate branch 
of Indo-European races. 

2 This relation was merely a dynastic union of the states. — L. I. B. 

5 



for these garments, very narrow lines of black being woven into the 
material at wide intervals, so as to form a check. On week-days the 
trousers are tucked into the high boots, but on Sundays they are let 
down over them. In summer-time we have a full view of this startling 
costume, which is surmounted by a cloth cap, and at this season a gang 
of labourers produces somewhat the effect of a walking flower-bed; 
but during the greater part of the year, this finery is concealed by the 
inevitable sheepskin coat, worn, of course, "with the furry side in," 
and tightened at the waist by a leather girdle, or, on gala days, by a 
crimson sash, the head-covering being then a full velvet cap, like a 
bag, with a broad border and ear-flaps of curled wool. 

If the men glory in trousers, so also do the women in skirts, which 
are of bright coloured, striped stuff, also home-made, and enormously 
full, as many as seven or eight being worn one over another, so as to 
produce a charming crinoline effect — the more distended the better — 
the toilet being completed by a loose jacket of one colour, usually light- 
grey or beet-root, which latter shade they affect very much, trimmed all 
round with black braid, and buttoned up the front, with an apron of 
coloured print, and any amount of beads round the neck. The feminine 
head-gear is remarkably graceful, namely, a very long, white muslin 
scarf embroidered in colours, twisted about the head and throat, 
with the ends falling low down the back. In winter — and winter we 
must remember lasts for fully eight months — this glory is hidden, at 
least when out of doors, by the universal sheepskin, and by a thick 
shawl or woollen handkerchief covering the head and tied round the 
waist. When the coat is new, the skin is either of creamy whiteness 
or else dyed a bright orange colour. It is long enough to reach to the 
heels, is trimmed with curled wool, either black or grey, and finished 
off at the neck with a broad collar to match. Should a wedding take 
place in winter, it is de rigueur for all the eight or ten bridesmaids 
to have fur coats exactly alike. In summer these are replaced by long 
grey woollen cloaks covering the whole dress. 

WEDDING CUSTOMS 

A peasant wedding always takes place on Sunday, and if it is 
a grand one, the whole church is lighted up, even the side altars; it 
must be remembered that the Lithuanians are devout Roman Catholics. 
The bride is led in by two young men and followed by her bridesmaids, 
who all, like herself, are in their best dresses, and wear crowns of 
flowers. The bridegroom is accompanied by several young men, and 
behind the wedding party are the two mothers. A table is placed 
within the sanctuary, having on it a crucifix and candles, and it is there 
that the priest stands to unite the couple, and the bride would be 
guilty of very bad manners if she did not weep the whole time. If 
she is not inclined to do so the old women scold her. They then go 
home and feast for several days and nights, the first entertainment 
being given by the bride's mother, the next by that of the bridegroom, 
after which other relations follow suit. The national dance, which is 
something like a jig, and very difficult, is performed by a number of 
couples at once, and in the middle of it the bride and bridegroom dis- 
appear, and go to their own house. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LITHUANIAN PEASANT 

The Lithuanian peasants are industrious and thrifty. Their 
food consists of potatoes, buckwheat porridge, beetroot, sauerkraut, 
a sort of macaroni, but quite black; pancakes, ryebread and meat — 
either beef or pork — eaten once a day in soup. They always have 
two soups for dinner, one without meat and the other with, the 
former being quite sour. A bathhouse is erected in every village, and 
used once a week by all the peasants, who bring their own fuel. When 

6 * 




LITHUANIAN PEASANT FAMILY. 



they have remained long enough in the heated atmosphere, they take a 
plunge in the river, and wind up by beating themselves well with birch 
twigs. They live in a kind of rough comfort, and are never in want, but 
are not nearly so expansive as their Russian neighbors, these latter 
being always ready with some friendly speech: — "Ah! that is your 
■eldest daughter," they will say on meeting a lady and her little girl. 
^'She must be of such an age, I remember her christening very well; 
I suppose she is very clever now, and has learned a great many things," 
and so on. These Russians are of the sect of the Staroviery (men of the 
old faith) ; there are some peculiarities in their doctrine and ritual, and 
the Russo-Greeks are not very fond of them. They are a simple, kindly 
folk, but very poor; and their villages, of which there are many, are not 
nearly so well built as those of the Lithuanians, neither do they possess 
land of their own. The noble Lithuanian families have no love for 
Russia, while the peasants, on the other hand, rather incline toward 
her, being far from possessing much devotion to the lords of the soil, 
who have for centuries held them in bondage, and would willingly do 
so still, although, as we have shown, they are quite ready to take 
advantage of the favourable dispositions of those who may be styled in 
some sort the chiefs of their clans. 

There is a homeliness that is very pleasing about Lithuanian life, 
even in that of the old noblesse, who are generally rich, but never 
purse-proud. The house — or palace, as it is called — stands usually in 
the centre of a park, immediately adjoining which is the village. It is 
handsome, but not pretentious, though sufficiently large for sixty extra 
beds to be made up without disturbing the ordinary arrangements, for 
in these parts, where society has to be gathered together from a dis- 
tance, and morning visits are all but impracticable, hospitality has to 
be carried out on an extensive scale, especially during a hunt or some 
other festivity. Housekeeping is no joke in this part of the world; 
everything not of home produce must be brought from a long distance, 
and to reach the railway itself you may have to travel for twenty-four 
hours. The Jew pedlar is therefore a very important institution, as he 
■carries not merely linen goods, dress-pieces, handkerchiefs, aprons, 
combs and brushes, stationery, trinkets, and the like, but also sugar, 
soap, blacking, and other household requirements. His personal appear- 
ance is not inviting, still he is a quaint-looking object, with his black 
garment reaching to his heels and slit up behind, and his trousers 
tucked into his high boots. His features are effeminate, an effect which 
is increased by the little greasy corkscrew ringlets on each side of his 
face, to which, as he is very proud of them, he never fails to give a 
twirl round his fingers before entering your presence, though he bestows 
no care upon his beard, which is always very long, pointed, and matted 
to a disgusting degree. As a rule, a Jew is always dirty, and as he 
has sense enough to know that it would be disagreeable to you to have 
your hand kissed by him, after the fashion of the country, he com- 
!>ounds for the omission by kissing your elbow! Though the Jew is 
obnoxious, he is nevertheless useful; and far from keeping to those of 
his own nationality, as do the Lithuanians, the Letts, and the Russians, 
who have all distinct villages, he is to be found everywhere, abounding 
particularly in the small towns, for he is the universal trader. A 
Lithuanian peasant will have nothing to do with commerce. 1 

WINTER IN LITHUANIA 

Lithuanian winters are very severe. From the month of November 
to April the whole country is a glittering white expanse. The houses 
are, however, so comfortably warmed — not over-heated, as is supposed 
in England — that very few additions are made to the indoor dress. The 



J This is not true of the Lithuanian of today. — L. I. B. 

8 
% 




COUNTRY GIRLS IN THE NATIONAL COSTUME. 



way the thing is managed is this: — Double windows, of course, are put 
in, and not removed till the frost is over. Then every morning wood- 
fires are lighted in the stoves all over the house. These stoves being 
built of fire-brick, of course retain the heat; so that unless an extraord- 
inary frost should occur, the fuel is not renewed in them, and the apart- 
ments remain at 15 degrees Reaumur — Lithuanians always use his 
scale — (about 58 Fahrenheit) during the day, and 14 by night. 

But what is amusing is the way the whole household watches and 
proclaims the increase of frost, as if they took a personal pride in the 
severity of the winter. "Fifteen degrees below zero," says the servant 
who comes to call you; and this you announce at breakfast, only to be 
told, perhaps, that the Sargas (the watchman who walks about all night 
in every great house for fear of fire) declares positively that the ther- 
mometer went down to 18 ; and the excitement increases day by day till 
it reaches its climax, probably at 27, when it is too cold for walking and 
even for skating. When you drive out you are swathed like a mummy. 
Yet is "dreary winter" far from being the dullest time. At the very 
first fall of snow the peasants take to their sledges, which like their 
carts and their clothing, are of every colour — red, green, blue, yellow, 
and brown. The sledge is, of course, the only means of winter locomo- 
tion, and the open sledge is used for the country drive, and the covered 
one for the evening visit; for now that the marshes are frozen over, 
distant people are brought into close neighborhood, and many a joyous 
merry-making takes place. 

HOLIDAY IN LITHUANIA 

We have said that the Lithuanians are Catholics, but Christ- 
mas Eve, though a day of abstinence, is a time of festivity. When 
the first star has shown itself, the drawing-room doors are thrown 
open and the master and mistress of the house take large oblong 
wafers of different colours, and break one with each person under 
their roof, wishing them a happy Christmas and all sorts of good 
fortune; and this example having been set, every one else does the 
same, the higher in rank offering the wafer to the inferior, and the elder 
to the younger. They then go in to supper, at which, in memory of 
the Babe or Bethlehem, a quantity of hay is placed under the table- 
cloth, large sheaves of wheat standing up at the end of the room. At 
intervals down the table one finds immense loaves made of flour, eggs, 
butter, and black poppy-seeds, each stamped with an infant Jesus. 
The other dishes consist of fish soup, another soup maigre with 
almonds and raisins in it, white poppy-seeds made into a mortar-like 
paste and eaten cold, cabbage, boiled and fried fish, sauerkraut, a great 
pike served with very rich brown sauce and almonds and raisins, and 
a single sweet dish called "kisielius" which is cream of oats made into 
blancmange and eaten with cream and syrup. For beverage you have 
hydromel, as well as different sorts of wine. The repast lasts for hours, 
for every one must partake of nine, eleven, or thirteen dishes, and part 
of the entertainment consists in pulling straws to see by their length 
whether your life will be long or short. Sometimes there is also 
a Christmas-tree, but that is often reserved for the next day, on which 
you turn out for Mass at 5 o'clock in the cold, dark, and dismal morning. 
Nothing particular is done on Christmas Day; there may be a dance 
in the evening; but on St. Stephen's day visitors are sure to come, and 
there will be an evening party. 

On Innocents' day some of the peasants go round and perform a 
queer sort of sacred play representing Herod surrounded by his officers 
passing sentence on the children of Bethlehem. Their costume is not 
a little grotesque. As a conclusion, death comes and tells the king that 
as he has killed others, he, too, must die. In this quaint drama the 

10 




MOTHER AND FOUR STUDENT SONS. 



devil appears in the form of a he-goat. Sometimes instead of the play 
there is a kind of punch-and-judy show, one of the puppets holding out a 
hag for money, for it is scarcely necessary to say that a liberal reward 
is expected to follow either performance. 

On New Year's Eve there is the "masque party," that is, a number 
of people in costume go to the houses of the nearest neighbours — we 
have already said that the frozen marshes bring people together in 
winter time — and dance for a short time and eating saltanosiai (a favour- 
ite kind of bun), and then, accompanied by those they have come to see, 
go on to other friends — of course all this has been pre-arranged — a gay 
party, increasing like a snowball as it goes on, until there is quite a 
procession of torch-lit sledges, the bells of which ring merrily as they 
fly swiftly along. Of course, too, there are outdoor amusements in 
the day time. There is skating every day, and shooting — hares are very 
numerous and othf-r kinds of small game; there are also deer, though 
the forests are not so suited for hunting as those of Poland. The 
wolves, of course, must be shot, and havoc is made among them. A 
young wolf is sometimes taken home, and will become quite companion- 
able, accompany you in your walks, and fawn upon you like the dogs, 
whose manners he seems to imitate. Only — and this is a serious point — 
he seems quite unable to renounce his thievish propensities, and makes 
away with so many fat ducks — he seems to have a weakness for these 
succulent morsels — that you are at last reluctantly obliged to "remove" 
him. 

For the carnival most people go to town, and eat more "saltanosiai" 
than ever; for although there is no meat in them, such delicacies must 
disappear during Lent, when, for at least three days in the week, milk, 
butter, eggs, and cheese are strictly forbidden, the abstinence being 
very severe. At Easter, however, all this privation is amply made up 
for, and during the last days of Holy Week an amount of cooking goes 
on which is simply wonderful. In the kitchen and still-room not only 
meat dishes, but sweets of every kind, are prepared — great towering 
"bobos" (flat cakes of almonds and nougat, iced and coloured), large 
tourtes, which resemble nothing so much as bride-cake — all these, with 
eggs of every colour, roast beef, sucking-pig, turkey, boar's head, game, 
ham, and cream cheese, are laid out on Holy Saturday on long tables 
in the conservatory, or, at all events, not in the usual dining room, when 
the priest comes and blesses the whole. The church is kept open all 
night, and at 11 o'clock a visit is paid to the Holy Sepulchre, beside 
which stand peasants in pasteboard armour, who personate the Roman 
guards. There is also a special service. You may think yourself lucky 
if you get any sleep that night, for at 4 o'clock you must attend the 
Mass of the Resurrection, which, being a solemn High Mass, with as 
grand a procession as may be, lasts a long time, so that after it you 
will not be sorry to refresh the inner man; and from this time eating 
goes on promiscuously at all hours for the next three days, every 
visitor who comes being conducted to the "sventiniai," as the display of 
eatables is called, such "sventiniai" more or less elaborate, being laid 
out everywhere, even in the peasants' houses, and it is the custom for 
the family of the place to pay visits to their dependents, and admire 
and perhaps partake of their feast. Those who live too far off for 
the priest to go to them bring bread, cheese and eggs to the church 
and get them blessed before the Mass on Easter morning. The "benit" 
is, as we have said already, eaten in snatches, and either standing or 
by one or two together at little tables, no regular meal, and nothing hot 
except tea and soup, being partaken of during the whole time, for the 
cooks must enjoy their well-earned holiday. But before taking any of it, 
a similar ceremony is gone through to that observed at Christmas, only 
this time it is with eggs — the master and mistress of the bouse having 
each a large dish of hard-boiled eggs cut in halves, which they present 
to every one with good wishes. 

12 




A PEASANT WOMAN. 



But before speaking of Easter, which usually comes when spring 
is far advanced, we should have alluded to its precursor, the thaw! 
What words can describe the discomfort of that time of puddle and 
muddle when, if you attempt to walk one behind another in the narrow 
track made by the peasant at the side of the road, you sink nearly 
to your knees, for, of course, the frost has penetrated deep into the 
ground; or if you wish to drive, you must do so in springless vehicles, 
which alone can stand the jolting over half frozen lumps of ice which 
drive the luckless traveller to desperation. Sometimes, indeed, the 
roads are altogether impassable, and then there is no post and no visitors; 
or haply the thaw may have been so sudden that those who have come 
to you in sledges are unable to make the return journey till they can 
do so in other vehicles. 

But in the spring-time — and it comes so suddenly — all is changed. 
The monotony of the seemingly endless forest is broken in upon by the 
singing of birds — goldfinches, thrushes, blackbirds, and robins, while 
violets, ferns, and lilies-of-the-valley appear in favoured spots. Other 
birds there are too, handsome, but not songsters — the hoopoe, for in- 
stance, and a large blue crow. At night the chorus of nightingales is 
absolutely deafening. In summer there are the beautiful fire-flies and 
immense night-moths; and you may gather strawberries and rasp- 
berries, and mushrooms, or rather different sorts of fungi, and bathe in 
the river, and revel in the soft warm air, and for a brief season forget 
that earth is not quite a paradise. 



14 



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